Miss Columbus Ohio
by igetupseteasily
Summary: A few weeks after the events at Pacific Playland, Columbus and his surrogate family make it to his home in Ohio. Columbus doesn't find his family there, but he does find a note leading to them. And, his friends meet his sister. Tallahassee/OC.
1. Mama and Miss Columbus Ohio

_Summary_: A few weeks after the events at Pacific Playland, Columbus and his surrogate family make it to his home in Ohio. Columbus doesn't find his family there, but he does find a note leading to them. And, his friends meet his sister. In some ways, she is exactly like her brother. In other ways, she is completely different. Rating is for language and of course, zombie gore.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters (except for my own), 'nor do I own the plot for the movie Zombieland. Enjoy!

* * *

Wichita stared at Columbus. They had just passed the first sign welcoming people into Columbus, Ohio and his face remained the same. The boy was like stone. Then again, she thought of how she and Little Rock would react to going home after everything that had happened. Their parents had died before the zombies came though, they had been in a car accident years ago. So she guessed going home and expecting to find your parents as the enslaved undead would cause people to tense up like Columbus was.

Columbus never spoke about his family, but as the streets became clearer to him, he began to feel upset. A lot of the houses were burned to the ground, as Wichita had said. However, it was more of the down town that was burnt down. As they got farther away from town, the houses seemed alright. It wasn't that he really missed his family, it was that he realized he never really had much of a family. His parents were a lot like him. However, he did have a sister who was on the borderline of being decently normal. He had never really told any of his companions about her, but then again there wasn't much time to think when you were being chased about zombies.

As Tallahassee pulled onto the street that Columbus had directed him to, the younger man sighed. When the car stopped, everyone was still. Waiting. He spoke up finally.  
"I know I won't find my parents in there." Everyone looked solemn at this. They had expected it, however. "And I especially know I won't find Grace."  
"Grace?" Wichita asked, confused. "Who's Grace?"  
Columbus looked down, "I should have told you all sooner. Grace is my sister. Or was. At this point, I really don't know."  
"She could be in there," Little Rock tried to cheer him up.  
"She was living in New York City when the outbreak occurred," he mumbled.  
Tallahassee nodded, but looked over at his friend. "Well, we'll try. Just in case."

Columbus was more surprised than anything that his house wasn't destroyed. A few of the other houses on his block seemed okay, too. The front door was even still locked and the key was still in place under the fake rock. He opened the door quietly and the others ran inside to check for him. Little Rock came back and looked solemn, "It's empty."  
"The good thing is that there's no sign of a struggle," Wichita added on.  
Columbus nodded, making his way upstairs. He showed Wichita and Little Rock his room, a request made by Little Rock, before moving down the hallway to Grace's room. He pushed the door open.  
Her room was nearly bare. She, like him, had wanted as far away from Columbus, Ohio as she could get. A bare desk sat in one corner and a bed with a white ruffled comforter sat on the other side of the room. A paper lay on the bed. He stepped over and picked it up.

_My dearest brother, _it read. _I stopped by the house. I don't know why, but I figured that for some reason you might do the same. Hopefully you didn't get here before me and this note isn't a lost cause. Hopefully you're safe, as well. I firmly believe that you are, because I know you. You're probably taking shelter somewhere and surviving pretty well. I miss you and I worry about you all day and night. I am fine and I hope we can see each other again. I brought mom somewhere. Somewhere that I hope is safer. If you read this, we'll be at the cabin by the lake. You know, the one that we used to go to when we were little. I think it puts mom at ease to be somewhere familiar. I just hope there aren't any zombies there. Love, Grace.  
P.S. - Mom says hi._

Columbus couldn't believe it. His eyes were about to bulge out of his skull by the time Wichita came in to check on him. She grinned broadly, "Well, let's go! Maybe it is safer out there!"  
Tallahassee nodded coolly, "Yeah, Columbus, let's go have a family reunion, whattya say?"  
Columbus smiled up at his friends, "If nobody really…minds."  
Tallahassee rolled his eyes, "Come on, kid, you act like we got somewhere else to be!"

* * *

"Is this it?" Tallahassee looked at Columbus in the rearview mirror. The boy nodded. There was a large gate in front of them, stopping them from going any further. The gate extended into a tall, heavy iron fence that looked as if it surrounded the entire area. The entire lake looked completely empty. There were two or three other lake houses, but they were all spread decently far apart. Each driveway had either a Hummer or a truck much like the one they were in. After prying their way into the area, Tallahassee drove the truck in. The kids shut and locked the gate behind them, climbing back into the truck as Tal drove slowly up the path. A man standing on top of his house mumbled something into a walkie talkie and then shouted down to them. "Can I help you kids?"  
"Uh, I think my mom is here?" Columbus spoke awkwardly. The man nodded once and mumbled again into the radio.  
They followed Columbus up to the house and stood there for a moment. Tallahassee raised a leg to kick the door down. Wichita rolled her eyes, holding a hand up to pause him, before knocking.  
Footsteps were heard shuffling to the door, along with the noise of a shot gun cocking, "Speak."  
"Mom?" Columbus asked, hopefully. A gasp was heard, before a clatter. The locks were undone and the door flung open.  
A woman in her middle aged years had opened the door. She had Columbus' eyes and the same color hair and an oval shaped face. Her face was slightly wrinkled and worn due to age and stress. She was short and a bit pudgy. Her hair was pulled back in a bun.  
"Pumpkin!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around her son. Tallahassee snickered before Little Rock kicked him in the shin. He hissed, glaring at her.  
Columbus' mother held him at arm's length, "Oh, you still look the same," she had a sad look in her eye, "Grace would have been so happy to see you if she'd opened the door." She looked around at his friends, "Oh, come in, all of you, come in."  
His mother ushered the group inside. As they sat at the kitchen table, she made a mug of hot cocoa for each of them. Columbus introduced his friends by their city names and his mother thought that it was adorable. "Well, then," she had stated, pouring milk into the mugs, "I guess you can call me Mama Columbus."  
Everyone laughed, thanking her for their drinks. Columbus looked around uncomfortably, "Um, mom?"  
"Yes, dear?"  
"Where is Grace? Is she…okay?"  
His mother giggled, batting at the air, "Oh you know your sister, hon…" she looked out at the window, "She should be home any minute now, actually," worry crossed her face.  
"Where did she go?"  
"There's a mall about a half an hour away. Zombies always flee to it for some reason, it must be engraved in their memories or something. That's at least what Gracie says. She likes to go to it some days and sit on the roof and shoot at them," she frowned, "It's kind of her hobby now. It worries me some days that she enjoys it so much, but the days she goes up there are the days they aren't anywhere near here."  
"Do they come around here?" Wichita asked, politely.  
"Oh, some days they'll come as far as the entrance gate before they're shot. I do hope you closed it, behind you." Columbus nodded.  
She nodded back at him, "Yes, there are a few other people around here somewhere in the other cabins. Gracie and two of them sometimes sit on the roofs. They set up alarms to know where the zombies are at. I guess it's safe here. Safer than it was at home."  
Columbus nodded. He hadn't asked about his father yet. He didn't really think asking his mother would be very appropriate. He would wait for Grace to arrive.

A light roar was heard down by the entrance gate and Mama Columbus looked visibly relieved, "That would be Grace…on that horrible vehicle."  
Columbus chuckled. Grace had always been an absolute darling to her parents. She did very well in school and played piano and did ballet. So, when she had proposed the idea of a motorcycle, everyone was very shocked. But, she enjoyed it.  
Tallahassee looked out the window after the roaring stopped. "Wow, that bike's a beaut."  
"Thanks," an angelic voice spoke from the doorway. Everyone except Columbus and his mother jumped. Grace was known to be very quiet and very quick. It helped her a lot during her teen years, sneaking out.

The girl was no taller than Wichita, and was probably about the same build. Tallahassee noted that she was a lot fuller in the chest than Wichita however and looked to be either the same age as Wichita or older. Her face was the same oval shape as her mother's and she had almond shaped green eyes that she had gotten from her father. Her hair was a very deep red that fell to the middle of her back in waves. Her skin was a creamy pale color and her lips were full and red. She had a petite nose and immaculate eyebrows.  
She had bangs that were parted over to the right side of her face and layers all throughout her hair. The hair on the left side of her head was tucked behind her ear and Tallahassee could make out four piercing on the earlobe and two on her cartilage. She had a small diamond on the right side of her nose and as she smiled, he nearly shivered. She was one of the most beautiful women he had seen. Even before Zombieland.  
She was dressed in tight dark blue jeans with rips all up the thighs. They were tucked into boots that hugged her calves and were a shiny black color. They had no heel on them. The top she wore was a simple black tank top and she had a cropped leather jacket layered a top it.

"Oh! Shit head!" Columbus blushed and Tallahassee grinned again, glad he wasn't the only one to make such fun of his friend. Their mother glared at Grace and she giggled. "You made it!" she cried out finally at her brother, leaping onto him in a hug.  
He grinned, hugging her back, "I went to the house!"  
She rolled her eyes, "Well, duh, dumbo. Like you would have thought to go to the lake house," she snickered. "Oh! You have friends…? Well, I guess Zland changed some things for the better." she looked confused. Tallahassee laughed, Columbus must not have been that popular in high school either. Columbus glared at her before introducing his surrogate family.  
"Yes. Um, Grace, this is Wichita and her sister Little Rock. And this is Tallahassee." Tallahassee grinned smugly at her as Wichita and Little Rock smiled kindly.  
"Cities," she nodded, "Clever. Well, I'm Grace," she pointed out the obvious, "And it's very nice to meet you."_  
Likewise,_ Tallahassee thought.

"Okay so there are three rooms and the sofa bed. Um, we can either do all the girls in one room and the boys in another or Columbus in my room, the girls in their own room, and you on the sofa bed," she spoke calmly. "I mean, if the girls want to stay with me, we have about three air mattresses."  
"You don't stay up and take watch?" Tallahassee looked confused.  
Grace shook her head, "Not our night. It's cabin four's night. Plus, we have the alarms," she shrugged.  
Wichita smiled, "I think we should stay with you, tonight. Because then we can get to know you. You know, girls night," she suggested. She was anxious to know more about her boyfriend, as well.  
"Sounds good to me," Grace laughed. She turned to her brother, "Help me get the air mattresses out of the linen closet?"  
He nodded, following his sister. When they were upstairs, he turned to her. "Um, Grace?" he whispered.  
She looked at him, "Yeah?"  
"What happened to dad?"  
Grace's face fell, tears immediately filling her eyes, but not yet falling. Columbus looked down. He could even feel his sister's heartbreak. She had loved their father the most out of anyone in their family, next to him.

_"Mom!" Grace cried out rushing into the house. She slammed the door and locked it, running upstairs. "MOM!" she screamed out. Her voice cracked.  
"Gracie!" her father shouted from back downstairs. She turned and sprinted down the stairs.  
"Daddy!" she flung herself into her father's arms. "Where's mom?"  
"She had gone to the store," his eyes were full of tears. "When I turned on the news I…" he trailed off, "Why did you come home?"  
"Because it happened in the city. I got out of there as fast as I could. And as I was driving here you could see the people changing," she was speaking monotonously. "One second they were normal and the next they were crashing their cars and diving out to eat somebody!" Her father looked away, disgusted. "What store did mom go to?" she asked, quietly.  
"The grocery store a few blocks away. Grace, don't!"  
"Dad," she turned to him, "stay in the house. Be quiet and lay low. I will be right back."_

_ Grace ran through the streets sleekly, hiding from the zombies that hadn't seen her. She didn't want to waste what ammo she had left from breaking into the gun store on her way home. She spotted her mother in the back of the grocery store, hiding. "Mommy, come on," she whispered hurriedly. Her mother smiled at her, touching the side of her face. When they got home, her father was outside. A zombie lay on the ground dead and her father smiled up at her. His arm was bleeding where a chunk of skin was missing.  
"Daddy!" she cried out, eyes full of tears, "I told you to stay inside!"  
"It's okay," he nodded, "It's just a scratch, Gracie. Get inside."_

"Did you have to kill him?" Columbus whispered. Grace closed her eyes, the tears falling as she nodded. "I waited for him to change. I couldn't…" she gulped in air, "I…not to my…not daddy," she whispered. "We brought him inside and sat him at the table, talking to him as he passed. It was so peaceful…he was so calm. And then, when those eyes opened and they had no life left in them…" She wiped her eyes and handed one of the boxes with the air mattress in it to her brother, "Here this is so Tallahassee can sleep in your room." She balanced the other two air mattresses on her arms and went down the hall to her own room.  
Wichita jumped up, shocked. She'd been looking around Grace's room cautiously for something. "I'm sorry! I brought our bags up here and I was just looking around." Grace chuckled as she tried to explain. "What are you looking for?" Grace questioned.  
"I saw you had makeup," Wichita gestured to Grace's vanity. "I thought maybe you'd have nail polish?"  
Grace laughed, sitting the boxes on the ground and taking one air mattress out. She left it to inflate while she pulled the other one out, "Bottom drawer," she nodded towards the vanity. Wichita lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw all the colors, calling Little Rock in.

"They've been locked up there for a while," Tallahassee nodded to the ceiling. "What do you think they're doing in there?"  
"I don't know," Columbus shrugged, turning on the TV. There were no stations on, of course. He had guessed that. Luckily Gracie had packed movies and he put one in. Another thump was heard upstairs followed by some giggling.  
"It sounds like they have an elephant up there!" Tallahassee exclaimed.  
Mama Columbus laughed, entering the room. "I think they're dancing. I'm not entirely sure, but that's what it sounds like."  
"How do you have electricity and water?" Tallahassee asked curiously.  
"The lake has always been run on a huge generator. It's quiet, too. It was just replaced last year. So, as long as we keep gas in the generator, we have electricity. The water tower up the hill is for the water. The zombies don't go up there because it's just a lone tower. They just pass it by, there are no people there for them."  
"So it fills up with water every storm and purifies itself with the filtering system. So we're set as long as we have gas and as long as someone checks the water once a week," Columbus finished for his mother. She nodded and Tallahassee shrugged.

A noise rang through the cabins. A soft beeping. Tallahassee and Columbus looked around while Mama Columbus left the room, frowning. The door upstairs was thrown open and Grace ran downstairs.  
She had changed into blue pajama shorts with white polka dots and had white, furry slippers on her feet. She had a white tank top on instead now, and her dark red hair was piled on top of her head. Her nails were now painted black, Tallahassee noticed and figured that's what the girls had been doing upstairs. She reached for her walkie talkie that she had left on the table. "What happened?"  
Columbus took this moment to realize that the beeping was one of the alarms that this little society had set up.  
_"It's just one by the gate, Grace. You want it?"_  
Grace bit her lip, thinking She should probably prove herself in front of her brother's friends so they didn't think she was just a weak little girl, "Yeah, why not?"  
_"Well, hurry up. Jack's on his way to his tool shed,"_ the voice on the other end of the radio chuckled. Grace reached for her sniper rifle that was in the corner of the cabin and raced back upstairs. Columbus and Tallahassee shrugged, following her. "Grace?" Columbus looked up to the ceiling where the ladder was hanging down. He sighed, climbing it. "Grace, what are you doing?"  
She was sitting cross legged on the roof with the rifle in her hands, chewing gum. She put her eye up to the scope and aimed, blowing a bubble. At the same time that her bubble popped, she squeezed the trigger. And a moment later, the zombie collapsed. A man on top of another cabin groaned. Her walkie talkie spoke, _"God damnit, Grace!"_  
She beamed, pressing the side button, "Looks like you got clean up, Jack."  
They could hear the other man groan from the roof of the other cabin without the radio and watched as he went back into his cabin before exiting from the front door. He dragged the zombie off.  
"Where do you take them?" Columbus asked.  
"The woods," Grace stood up, "Where else?"  
"Dinner!" Mama Columbus screamed out from the first floor. The three raced down the ladder, back into the house.


	2. Family Bonding

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters (except for my own), 'nor do I own the plot for the movie Zombieland. Enjoy!

* * *

Little Rock was grinning broadly, "This food is _amazing_!" Mama Columbus shrugged. She had done what she could with what she had left in the pantry. Grace went out often for supplies, but really only nonperishable foods were left.  
"I tried to make something nice for you," she smiled politely. She then turned to Grace, "Which reminds me. We need some things from the store, Grace." She hated sending Grace out into Zombieland, but there wasn't much of a choice.  
Grace nodded, "Make a list, Ma. I'll go in the morning."  
"Where do you get your supplies from?" Wichita jumped into the conversation. She just wanted to talk, Columbus noted. Grace was around her age, and Wichita hadn't seen another girl her age in almost a year.  
"Walmart," Grace took a sip of her water bottle.  
"_Walmart_?" Tallahassee cried out. "Those are like, their breeding grounds! Are you nuts?"  
"Only slightly," Grace smiled softly. "They're what make it fun."  
Columbus stared at his sister, shocked, "What? You hated zombies! You were terrified of Dawn of the Dead for weeks, Grace!"  
She shrugged, "If you don't adapt, you die. I adapted. I conquered my fear."

Her mother rolled her eyes, "Yeah, now you just need to conquer your other problem."  
Tallahassee laughed, "Please don't tell me you don't have your brother's anxiety problems." He was of course, referring to Columbus' asthma and irritable bowel syndrome. Columbus glared over at him as Grace laughed.  
"You still do that?" she giggled. "And no, I don't."  
"So what's wrong with you?" Little Rock asked. Wichita hissed at her, making a face to tell her to apologize. Little Rock shrugged.  
Grace just laughed at how blunt the girl was, "I have OCD."  
"What's that?" Little Rock was intrigued.  
"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," Columbus explained. "It's when you have obsessions - like thoughts and fears and you have compulsions like um, things that you do a lot, to stop thinking about your fears. Like, with Grace, she's afraid of diseases and dirt, so she washes her hands about a thousand times a day," he rolled his eyes.  
"I am not afraid of _dirt_," she rolled her eyes. "There is nothing wrong with dirt. I'm afraid of _germs_, Columbus."  
"Then _how_ have you been dealing with zombies?" Tallahassee asked, genuinely intrigued.  
"Surgical gloves," she smiled brightly. "You just throw them away. And voila! Germs gone."  
"You still have to wash your hands afterwards," Columbus laughed. "You always complained that gloves made your hands sweaty and smell like latex."  
"Yes, but not as harshly!" Columbus laughed as his sister smiled at him. "Do you guys want to play a game or something? We've got a bunch in the closet in the living room if you want to take a look." Little Rock was out of the room before she had even finished her sentence and she laughed, "She is so cute," she mumbled under her breath.  
Mama Columbus went to bed early and Grace sent her brother and his friends into the living room as she washed the dishes.

"D'you need any help?" a voice drawled from the doorway.  
She looked over her shoulder to see the rugged cowboy leaning against the doorframe. She turned back to the sink, putting a wet dish onto the drying rack. "You aren't going to go sit with them?"  
He chuckled, moving forward, "I sit with them every day. I have been for about a month and a half. I think I can bear to miss them for a little." He stood next to her, watching her scrub the dishes. Her hair was still pulled back, but her bangs were falling into her face, much like the longer parts of Witchita's bangs often did. "Anyways, can I help?"  
She smiled, "You can take the cloth over there and dry them if you're that intent on helping, cowboy."  
He chuckled, "Yes, Miss Columbus."  
She laughed loudly, "Oh great, now I'm a pageant winner? Miss Columbus Ohio." She scrunched her face up. "Or you could just be being a Southern gentleman," she mused lightly. "Look, I know you guys are all into your city names, but please just call me Grace. I'd rather _not_ be Miss Columbus, thanks."  
He laughed again, starting a pile of the dried dishes off to the side. He didn't know where to put them so he figured he would leave them until the end.  
"Didn't pin you for much of a dishwasher," she mused.  
"When you live on your own, you gotta do something so they don't pile up. And paper plates get to be _prettyyy _expensive after awhile," he grinned at her.  
She giggled, rinsing her hands when she finished with the dishes. She pointed at two different cabinets, "Plates and cups go in those," she had noticed the pile to the side, "If you can put those away, I'll put the pans and utensils away. Yeah?"  
He nodded, "You got it. _Miss Columbus._"  
She scowled at him, playfully. "Okay, _Yosemite Sam_." He glared at her this time and took the plates off to the cupboard. After they finished putting them away, he turned to her. "Grace?"  
"Yes, Tallahassee?"  
"Do you have any alcohol in this house of your's?"  
She laughed, "What do you want?"  
He gave her a look, "Darlin', do I look like I care what I get as long as it's alcohol?"  
"Oh, okay, so would you like a strawberry daiquiri?" she raised her eyebrows up. She then rolled her eyes, "Cowboys and their whiskey," she mumbled. She got down onto all fours after retrieving a key and unlocked a cabinet near the pantry door. Tallahassee tilted his head and leaned back a little bit to look at Grace's-ahem, hind quarters, a bit better and smirked. She put her hand up onto the counter above her head and used it to pull herself up, handing the cowboy a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Enjoy," she smiled.  
"Have a shot with me, princess, come here," he spoke softly, calling her over to him. She rolled her eyes and got two shot glasses. He poured the two of them shots and clinked his glass with hers. They raised their glasses in the air, put them to their lips, and each tilted their heads back. He looked over, expecting her to have the same face Columbus did when he last drank with Tallahassee (and he _had_ drank it that time) or to toss it over her shoulder much as her brother had, but was surprised to see her face look perfectly normal, the shot glass empty, and the floor behind her dry. She smiled, putting the glass back on the table. She tugged on the cuff of his jacked, moving towards the doorway, "Come on, cowboy, let's go see what the kiddies picked to play."

* * *

"Monopoly? Not again!" Wichita whined.  
"When did you last play Monopoly?" Grace sat on the loveseat that was empty. The other three were on the couch, so Tallahassee sat with her, holding his whiskey in one hand.  
"At Bill Murray's house," he answered her, pulling off his jacket. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, noting that the color of his shirt was maroon. Not many men looked good in it. But he did.  
"Bill Murray's?" she gasped looking at him, "Was he a zombie?"  
"No, actually," he smiled. "He was dressed up as one but he was in pretty good condition…until your brother shot him." The group looked over at Columbus and he looked down instantly.  
"What the _fuck_!" Grace cried out. Tallahassee's head snapped back to the girl. She had cursed and it sounded so odd coming out of her pretty little mouth. "You _killed_ Bill Murray? You killed my favorite actor since I could comprehend his comedic genius? How could you?"  
"He was a really convincing zombie," he muttered. "I panicked."

Still shocked, she shook her head. Tallahassee held the bottle of whiskey out to her and she took a sip from it to try and calm down. Her brother had shot Bill Murray for goodness sakes, how else was she supposed to react?  
The group finally settled on Clue and asked little questions here and there.  
"What'd you kill your first zombie with?" Grace smiled lightly.  
"A chainsaw," Tallahassee nodded.  
"Field hockey stick," Wichita laughed.  
"Baseball bat," her sister threw in.  
"You know the toilet tank?" Columbus asked, "The lid for that. I tried Raid first."  
Grace laughed loudly, covering her mouth. Tallahassee nudged her with her elbow, prompting her to answer. "Oh. An iPhone."  
"An iPhone?" Columbus cried out, laughing.  
"How did you do that?" Wichita's eyes were wide.  
"I just kept hitting it until it stopped moving. The phone was halfway in it's brain. I washed my hands for so long after that." The group laughed. "What about the second time."  
"Gun," the group answered as a whole, with the exception of Tallahassee.  
"Well, what about you?" Grace turned her head up to look at him. He smiled, "Two chainsaws."  
"You really worry me sometimes," Columbus looked over at him, "Do you know that?"

After a few more hours of talking, Tallahassee finally spoke up, "How'd you get out of New York City and to Columbus, Ohio without getting infected?"  
"Well the virus started in Texas and it spread outwards," she motioned her hands in a horizontal line, "instead of North," she pointed upwards to demonstrate the direction. "And then it moved up the coastline once it hit Florida and California and when it hit the top, it moved again and met up before spreading downwards." The group nodded for her to continue. "There were only a few infected in NYC when I was living there. I was on break from work and I was getting a coffee. When I saw that thing stagger in with blood on it's mouth…" she paused, "Generally well educated or at least decently educated people should know that if someone looks like they're dead and they have blood dripping down their face…you run. However, people are stupid. I personally took off like a bat out of Hell. I got in my car and drove away as fast as I could. I had to pass by a Quarantine to get into Pennsylvania and again when I got into Ohio. But I made it to my parents right when the virus did. It was before it got bad. Then, when we had to come here…there were no more quarantine borders to cross." She shrugged.  
"And I'm guessing only your mom made it," Wichita spoke sadly. Grace nodded, sadly, "Daddy didn't make it out of the house," she looked away. Tallahassee put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.  
"Are your parents…" Grace looked over at Wichita. She shook her head, "No, but they died about five years back." Grace nodded, whispering an apology,  
The two sisters went upstairs to get ready for bed, dressed in spare pairs of Grace's pajamas. Columbus went upstairs as well and Grace sat with Tallahassee on the couch.

"Did you lose anyone, Tal?" she whispered. Her eyes were still slightly watering.  
He nodded. He didn't know why, maybe it was because this girl was the sister of the little spit-fuck he admitted to being his best friend, or maybe it was because the girl seemed genuinely sweet, but he felt as if he could tell her about Buck. "I lost my son."  
Her mouth dropped open as her heart sank into her stomach. Her eyes began to sting slightly at the thought. "Oh, Tallahassee," she whispered.  
He handed her his wallet, "We made that together," he sniffed. It was easier to talk about the second time.  
She smiled softly at the picture, "He was beautiful, Tal," she handed it back to him. He nodded, sniffing again as he tucked it into his pocket. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed herself into him, "I'm so sorry, Tallahassee."  
His arms hesitantly went around her as her hands rubbed his back. He hadn't been comforted in a long time. Columbus had patted his arm at Bill's house, but this was different. Grace was full of compassion for a man that had lost his child, because she had lost his father. Or perhaps she was just, literally, the last nice person left on the planet.

"Are you mad that Columbus didn't try to get to the house sooner?" he asked her as they pulled away and sat in silence.  
She shook her head, "I didn't expect him to. Texas is a lot farther than New York. We understood he'd take awhile. Are you tired?"  
He nodded, "Exhausted."  
"I'm sure my dad left some pajama pants here if you want to wear them. Or at least a clean shirt," she shrugged, "You can all shower tomorrow after Walmart and we'll do some laundry."  
"I don't want the little one going to Walmart," he told her. "She almost got bit the last time we went."  
Grace nodded, "I wasn't planning on letting her go. Personally, I think it should just be the two of us. But if my brother and Wichita want to go, then they can. I just don't want there to be too many or too little of us."  
He nodded, "We'll decide in the morning."  
After fetching Tallahassee a pair of her father's old pajamas, she said good night to him and crept into her own room. Wichita stirred on her air mattress as Grace climbed over it to get onto her own bed.

Wichita lifted her head up, "What time is it?"  
"Sorry," Grace whispered climbing under her own covers, "About three. Go back to sleep."  
"Why are you up so late?" Grace heard the girl shift on the mattress.  
"I was talking to Tallahassee," Grace whispered back, as not to wake Little Rock.  
"Don't worry about waking her up," Wichita told her. "She's named Little Rock for three reasons. One, we moved there after we left Wichita. Two, she is my rock. My little rock," Grace chuckled at this, "And three, she sleeps like a rock." Grace nodded in the dark, although Wichita couldn't see it. "What were you talking to Florida about?"  
Grace shrugged, "His son, my dad, Columbus, Walmart. You know." She realized after the list came out of her mouth how random Walmart was to throw in there.  
"He told you about Buck?" Wichita asked, surprised. "Was he okay?"  
"He was fine. He cried a little bit, but he seemed somewhat okay. How old is he, Wichita? Do you know?"  
Wichita shrugged, more to herself than anything, as she scrunched her face up in thought. "Probably about thirty five. Thirty six at most," she nodded, concluding her thought. "Why, you interested in the old cowboy?" Grace laughed, "No!"

Little Rock moaned a bit in her sleep after the outburst before lightly snoring.  
The two older girls giggled for a moment before quieting down. "I think that _you_ are interested in someone that I know very well, Miss Wichita."  
Wichita giggled again, "How did you know?"  
"I've never seen my brother look at any girl like that before. I could tell he likes you, Wichita. It's really pretty adorable."  
"Yeah, well, I like him, too. We're kind of dating. As much as dating can account for in Zombieland. It's really hard to get away from Tallahassee and actually spend time with him. Tal's always barging in and talking about something weird. Or looking for Twinkies."  
"Twinkies?" Grace asked, surprised.  
"He _really_ likes Twinkies," Wichita explained to her. "He actually loves them. So, he always wants one."  
"Wichita, tomorrow we will have a wonderful planning day. We will plan a date for Little Rock, Tallahassee and myself and we will get the two of you alone for a romantic dinner," Grace smiled in the dark.  
Wichita laughed, "But what about your mom?"  
"Oh, she goes to bed early. She was only up late because E-" she paused, "Columbus came home."  
"You can say Evan," Wichita told her, catching that Grace almost slipped. "He told me. And if you want, you can call me Christa. But just not in front of Tallahassee," she laughed.  
Grace smiled, "Oh, okay. Um, yeah. Well, we'll plan it tomorrow. I'm exhausted. Goodnight."  
"Night, Grace."  
"Oh, and Christa?"  
"Yeah?" Wichita smiled, glad to hear her real name for once. It was such a nice change.  
"I'm really glad my brother ended up with someone like you."

* * *

_A bit shorter than last time, though I really sort of just tried to get this one done._


	3. Walmart

_Author's Note_: So today I was in history and we were talking about overseas voyages. The fifth bullet point? _Columbus's Journey_. And then again, tonight, I was tracking a package that I'm supposed to get and what do I see? Departure scan: Columbus, OH. I am constantly being reminded of Zombieland! So, here you go. Also, thank you to my anonymous reviewer!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the characters (except for my own), 'nor do I own the plot for the movie Zombieland. Enjoy!

* * *

"The girls are going to shower while we go to Walmart. And lucky you, you get to go on a road trip with the Columbus siblings," Grace smiled up at the man that she had decided was going to be her new friend. He grimaced back at her, less than thrilled. She giggled. She was dressed in nearly the same apparel as yesterday, just with a different shirt on underneath her leather jacket. She opened up the closet in the hallway and pulled out a bunch of different guns.  
She attached a gun holster to each of her thighs, checking to make sure the guns were loaded before sliding them into the holsters.  
"Two pistols?" Tallahassee raised an eyebrow. She cocked her own eyebrow at him, taking magazines that she had already packed away and shoving them into a pouch almost like a fanny pack. She threw the pack around her waist and grabbed a shotgun bandoleer, each little spot filled with a shotgun shell and slung it around herself. She grabbed the shot gun that was off to the side and checked that it was loaded, cocking it. Finally, she grabbed a huge bowie knife with a bright pink handle on it and shoved it into a pouch attached onto her back pocket.  
"Two pistols, a shot gun, and a _pink_ bowie knife," he chuckled, shaking his head. Grace grinned, gave a shrug, and walked out the front door. The two followed upon hearing the garage door be pulled up and a truck start.

An all black, Hummer H3 sat in the driveway as Grace pulled the garage door down and made sure it was locked. The windows were shaded completely black and there was a plow on the front much like the one Tallahassee had installed onto his old Cadillac. Grace hopped up into the car, nearly climbing into the seat as she was a lot shorter than the truck. Tallahassee chuckled at how tiny she looked before she shut the door. He jumped in the passenger side, leaving Columbus the back seat.  
Tallahassee tapped the windows, which were completely clear on the inside, "This is a nice tint job."  
Grace smiled at him, "Thanks. They're bulletproof, too."  
She then buckled her seatbelt, smiling in the rearview mirror as her brother did the same and Tallahassee rolled his eyes. What was it with these two and their safety precautions?

* * *

"That's not bad," she muttered, passing binoculars to Tallahassee. They had parked down the road from the Walmart near an abandoned 7-11 and were laying on the roof of the car on their stomachs. He whistled, "Not that bad?" he was amused as he passed the binoculars to Columbus.  
"There's like a hundred!" The younger boy exclaimed.  
"Yeah, usually there's about two hundred," Grace smiled, "Which is great because if we can take at least half of them out from over here then that gets a lot of the work done. It's also really good because if there's only a hundred it could mean that there aren't many around here anymore."  
"You want us to lay here and snipe the zombies?" Tallahassee questioned, ignoring the statement after that one.  
She turned to him and nodded, "It's much easier than charging into a hundred zombies. Believe me, that's not that pretty."  
He nodded and Columbus agreed, "It's really logical." Tallahassee glared at him and he looked away, "I guess."  
Grace hopped down off of her Hummer and opened the trunk. She closed it quietly, after taking out her sniper rifle and two silencers. She attached the silencers to the pistols in her holsters and handed one to the two boys on top of the truck. She slid the rifle onto the space where she was going to lay and tried to climb up onto the truck. Laughing, Tallahassee sat up and turned around. He leaned down and helped her up, grabbing her hand. She and Tallahassee faced the zombies, and Columbus rolled and laid on his stomach facing the opposite way as a lookout. Grace and Tallahassee began shooting.

About fifteen minutes later, the last zombies fell down to the ground. The trio slid off the roof and climbed into the Hummer, driving off towards the back entrance of Walmart. Grace drove over as many of the fallen zombies as she could, following her brother's rules that he had shown her the day before. She backed up to the garage door behind Walmart where trucks usually pulled in to unload. She, Tallahassee, and Columbus yanked the door upwards with all of their strength, and Grace backed the truck in before Tallahassee hit the button to shut the door again. The three entered the store through the back.  
Tallahassee began shouting to lure any zombies out. After a moment of silence, they began their trip.

All three of them got a cart each and loaded the bottom of the carts with four cases of water each. Tallahassee helped Grace load her water before they moved on to the nonperishable items. They filled their carts with as many as they could, even grabbing a few frozen dinners that they didn't think expired yet before splitting up. Tallahassee made his way to the Twinkies, Columbus made his way towards the toilet paper, and Grace made her way towards the clothes.

She picked out a dress for Wichita to wear that night for her somewhat forced date with Columbus and some casual clothes for the two sisters. She also grabbed pajamas that would fit Little Rock better and then made her way over to the home section and grabbed some candles. She also grabbed a couple of movies.

After grabbing toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues, Columbus began stocking up on first aid kits and then threw in some toothbrushes and toothpaste, grabbing mouth wash and floss as well. His last grab was a few packs of razors and some shaving cream.

Tallahassee had nearly all of the boxes of Twinkies in his cart when a bang caused him to look up. He pulled his gun out, aiming it around cautiously. He noticed the visitors at the front door, trying to hit it.

"Columbus! Grace!" he called out, over his shoulder, "We got company!"  
Grace bounced up next to him and he nearly shot her, shocked. She just smiled apologetically and looked out the door, "I would say they're not a problem," she mumbled, "but look, they've got friends coming. Let's bag this shit and run," she concluded.  
They began bagging their goods by merely just throwing as much as they could into the paper bags at the check out stations without the bags ripping. Tallahassee noticed the dress she packed and whistled, "That for you?"  
She blushed, smiling, "Wouldn't you like to know?"  
He grinned back at her, "I would."  
She blushed even harder, but ignored him and kept packing her stuff up. They threw all of the bags into one cart and made a run for the back exit as they heard the glass doors start to break. Grace threw Tallahassee her keys as Columbus pushed the cart frantically, "Go start the truck!" she yelled out, turning backwards to face one of the zombies that had finally made it in. She shot it in the head and continued running with her brother, looking over her shoulder as she did.  
They ran into the loading area and Grace pulled the door to the section shut, locking it. Tallahassee was in the car and Columbus was struggling to put the entire cart in the trunk. Grace rushed over and picked up the other side. They finally fit the entire thing in and shut the trunk door. Columbus got in the back seat and Grace opened the passenger door as soon as Tallahassee shot the controls to open the door for outside. She shut the door and began fumbling with her seatbelt as he revved the engine.  
Numerous pairs of legs were outside of the door as it rose and clawing could begin to be heard against the metal of the door. Grace squeaked, frantically trying to do her seatbelt as the engine revved louder and louder.  
Finally, Tallahassee beamed, "Time to nut up or shut up."

The car lurched forward just at the time that it would clear the door and due to him putting his foot completely on the gas, they went through the zombies like a knife through warm butter. He spun the wheel quickly, sending Grace flying into his lap as he stuck his arm out of the window and began shooting as he had done in Pacific Playland. All of the zombies in the back of the Walmart fell down and he began running them over as the ones from the front ran to the back.  
"Oh, you wanna play?" he asked out loud. He grinned to himself and began shooting at the zombies as he raced past them, shooting at the ones that he could. Columbus even rolled down his window a bit and began shooting. Tallahassee stopped the truck, putting another magazine in his gun. As Grace began to climb up from her position in Tallahassee's lap, he pulled the same maneuver as before and she flew back down. She blushed furiously that her face was in his lap and once they drove off from Walmart and the streets were clear, she pulled herself up. She looked out the window to make sure there were none out there, face red.

Tallahassee was smirking to himself when he noticed where she'd been. He looked in the rearview mirror at her brother who had no idea what was going on and was too busy almost hyperventilating. He grinned, "Hey Columbus, guess what I got."  
"Twinkies?" Columbus asked, confused. Tallahassee nodded, grinning, "You'd better drink some water before you freak out, kid."  
Grace turned to look at her brother, "You okay?" She whispered calmly to him. Her face wasn't as red anymore and her embarrassment level had sunk. Columbus nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."  
She frowned, looking at his face, "Drink some water." She turned back to face the road.  
Tallahassee was grinning, "Columbus find me a Twinkie while you're back there!"

* * *

Tallahassee glared over at the walkie talkie that was still going off. Grace had been on the thing ever since they'd gotten home, talking to one of the guys down in the other cabin. She picked it up and walked out of the room, mumbling something about a movie night as she went. He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she made dinner.  
He noticed something odd, however. The table was only set for two and there were candles set on the table. A third plate sat on the counter and she fixed something on it. She turned to Tallahassee and smiled, "Oh, Tal! Can you bring this to Mama for me?"  
He looked at her, confused, "She's not eating with us?"  
"Oh!" she gasped, "I cannot believe I forgot to tell you," she put the plate down and moved closer to him, whispering, "None of us are eating here. Just my brother and Wichita. It's going to be a date night for them. He doesn't know, though. That dress was for her and I'm cooking dinner. I was going to take you and the little one over to the neighbor's cabin for movie night. He's having a barbeque with some frozen meat that's still good, if that's okay."  
Tallahassee nodded. He had thought she was having one of those men from the cabin over here to eat with her. He shook the idea out of his head, why would he care anyways. He took the plate upstairs to Mama Columbus. Once the plates were set, Grace ran upstairs, begging Tallahassee to keep Columbus out of the kitchen while she helped Wichita get ready. She then ran back downstairs and pulled the two she was kidnapping into the kitchen. She let out a cry of _Dinner!_ and snuck them out the kitchen door, closing it behind them after she turned the lights off.

Columbus entered the kitchen immediately. He was starving and whatever his sister had made smelt delicious. He was confused for a moment as he stepped inside. The kitchen was empty. Not even his sister, who had just called out for him was in there. He looked around, anxious. The room was dark and only candles lit it. Then, it clicked in his mind.  
His eyes darted back to the kitchen table and he noticed that there were only two places set. He also realized that Wichita was upstairs. The door he heard close a few moments ago must have been the rest of his friends sneaking out. He sat down, patiently waiting.  
Wichita entered the room and his jaw nearly dropped. Her hair was done up in a bun, her bangs pushed back. She wore a strapless black dress that went down to her knees and a pair of black heels he recognized as his sister's. She had her makeup done fresh and her smile brightened the room. He grinned at her, nervously.

* * *

"So, you think the little spit-fuck'll make it to second base?" Tallahassee questioned as they watched a movie at the neighbor's cabin. Grace shrugged, not even insulted by the name he called her brother.  
"I don't think he knows how to get to second base, yet alone what to do once he's gotten there," Grace whispered back, "He's never had a girlfriend before."  
"I knew that," Tallahassee rolled his eyes, "Let's just hope your brother has seen American Pie."  
She laughed, disguising it as a cough so that Little Rock wasn't insulted that they were ignoring her movie choice.

The younger girl fell asleep by the time the movie was over and Tallahassee picked her up carefully as he and Grace said goodnight to the neighbor and Grace thanked him for letting them over. They walked back towards the Columbus family cabin and Tallahassee thought of how awkwardly normal this moment was.  
If this was before the outbreak then this could have been a completely normal thing. It could have been him and his date going out to a friend's house and bringing Buck with them. It could have been a family movie night and they could have been on their way home right now. He sighed lightly, pushing the thought back.

They locked the door behind them and noticed that the house was dark. The candles had been blown out and Columbus and Wichita were nowhere in sight. Tallahassee put Little Rock on the couch and covered her up because he didn't want to wake her up or bring her up the stairs. He turned to Grace after a moment, "Those alarms always work, don't they?" He didn't want Little Rock to end up as breakfast.  
She nodded, "If not, it's late. It's probably about two. Mama gets up at five. And Glenn's on lookout."  
He nodded, Glenn was one of the guys at the cabin they'd been at. He walked upstairs with her and they parted at the middle, going to their separate rooms. Grace had just changed and crawled into bed when her door creaked open. "Grace?"  
"Tallahassee?" she looked up confused.  
"Um, Wichita is in your brother's room. And I feel kind of awkward just sleeping on the floor in there…"  
She nodded, though he couldn't see in the dark. "Come here then, just sleep on her bed."  
"Where is it?" he muttered, walking forward in the dark blindly after closing the door. Grace laughed and he followed it until his foot hit the bed. He bent down and crawled onto the air mattress just next to her bed and snuggled in. "Thank you."  
She smiled, "No problem. Night Tallahassee."  
She fell asleep almost instantly while Tallahassee laid awake for a little bit. It had been so long since he had slept next to a woman. Well, sleeping in the car with Wichita and Little Rock really didn't count. Especially Little Rock. And though he wasn't technically _next_ to Grace, he still felt as if he were. Her arm fell off the bed as she shifted slightly in her sleep and her hand rest on his shoulder lightly. He smiled softly and fell asleep.

"Shit fuck!" he shouted out as something landed on top of him. Grace awoke with a start, looking around. She started giggling when she realized she'd fallen off her bed on top of him. "Oops," she laughed, "Sorry, Tallahassee." She rolled off of him and yawned into the pillow.  
He calmed down after a moment, noticing it was only about an hour after he'd fallen asleep, "Grace get back in your own bed, princess."  
"Mhm," she nodded into the pillow, yawning again, "On my way."  
He chuckled when he realized she'd fallen asleep again and pulled the covers up over her as well, resting his head next to hers on the pillow and closing his eyes.


	4. Morning

**Authors Note**: Here you go! I am so so so so sorry that it's taken me this long. I've been completely blocked on this chapter and I'm never entirely happy with it, so let me know what you think! Also, thank you to my reviewers! Because believe me, my phone buzzing and saying I have new reviews is the motivation (and reminder) that I need to keep going! And **boneslover13**, here is me…updating pronto!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except for my own), 'nor do I own the plot for the movie Zombieland. Enjoy!

* * *

Grace woke up confused. She blinked, trying to figure out why her sight was so low to the ground. She could only remember falling asleep in her own bed. She also remembered being freezing when she had fallen asleep and now she was remarkably warm. She felt something around her waist and turned her head to see the cowboy, shirtless and hatless, snuggled into her. She turned around completely, shuffling carefully under the covers so that he wouldn't wake up, in awe. She hadn't seen him yet without his hat on, or without a shirt on for that matter.

He had very defined muscles in his chest and in his arms and he looked a lot more gentle asleep than he did awake. His hair was cut short and it was balding slightly at the top in the back, but she felt that he looked really good with the hat off.

She smiled softly, realizing that he was snuggling with her. She hadn't expected Tallahassee to be the type to cuddle.

His warm breath hit her face as he exhaled through his mouth and she giggled as it tickled her and sent a shiver up her spine at the same time. One of Tallahassee's eyes opened. He closed it again before speaking, "Good morning, Grace." He then grunted to clear his throat.

She laughed at his morning voice, "Good morning, Tallahassee. Um, can you help me figure out how I got down here?"

He laughed, opening his eyes, "Oh, you fell off your bed in the middle of the night. I told you to get back in your own bed, but you didn't listen."

She laughed, looking away. She'd done that before at sleepovers and in college. "And your arm is around me, because?"

This time, he looked away, removing his arm from her waist. He smiled nervously, trying not to let himself blush in front of the younger girl, "Well, also your fault… you started it. You kept getting closer. And you were shivering."

She nodded, "Well, I'm sorry I intruded on your sleep."

He laughed, speaking softly, "It's okay, Gracie."

She beamed. He hadn't called her Gracie yet and she liked the way it sounded with his accent. She reached her hand out and made a move to run it over the small hairs on his head. He looked confused and she pulled her hand back, "I just wanted to touch it," she mumbled. "Cause it's usually soft when it's cut like that. And I've never seen you without your hat."

He chuckled again, taking her hand in his and placing it on his head, "You can touch it if you want."

She was hesitant at first. Tallahassee was so sweet with her, unlike how he was with her brother and Wichita and in a different way than he was with Little Rock. She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in as she pushed her hand backwards on his head. He closed his eyes, snuggling back into the pillow. She bit back a small laugh and continued rubbing her hand on his head.

"That feels good," he murmured into the pillow. She smiled, inching closer to him under the covers. She pushed her head against his chest and snuggled into him, feeling his arm snake back around her waist.

He heard a shower down the hall turn on after awhile. "We should probably get up, soon." He felt her sigh softly into his chest and resisted the urge to pull her closer. He heard her mumble that she didn't want to and he began laughing. He let out a sigh of his own and rested his chin on the top of her head, "I don't want to either, Grace."

She pulled back and looked up at him for a moment. A small smile rested on her face as she continued gazing. He stared back down at her, content and confused at the same time. There was something with this girl that made him feel at ease. The only way he could describe it is the way that he felt after he had eaten a Twinkie.

"Grace?" she heard her brother call from down the hall and sighed, calling back to him. He shouted back to her response, "Do you know where the extra towels are?"

She groaned, pulling the covers off of herself and crawling over Tallahassee to the door. She finally pulled herself up using the doorknob and after twisting the knob and pulling the door open, she walked down the hallway to deal with her brother, because she knew that even if she told him several times and in detail where the towels were, that they would never be found unless she physically got up to do it herself. That's how her father had been and that's how her brother was.

Tallahassee rolled onto his back, putting his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. What was it with this girl that turned him into a ball of mush? He never let anyone get that close to him. He most certainly never let strangers rub his head. He looked over to the wall, light reflecting off the glass of picture frames on a counter. He looked back up at the ceiling again.

She reentered, blowing her bangs out of her face. She stared down at the man on the air mattress before he locked eyes with her. "Are you getting up?" she asked him quietly. She really didn't want him to, but the risk of anyone finding them cuddling would surely put him in a sour mood for the rest of the day.

He shrugged, pushing the covers off of himself and standing up. She took a sharp inhale of breath as all of his shirtless body was exposed and again as he turned to grab his hat off the table. He had amazing back muscles, she noticed.

He turned around and locked eyes with her. She looked shocked and had a flush to her cheeks. He smirked for a minute, but didn't say anything to embarrass her. He brushed past her gently while putting his hat on his head, "See you downstairs."

She nodded, dumbfounded for a moment before moving towards her dresser and trying to pick out an outfit for the day.

Wichita made her way down the hallway to Grace's room just in time to catch Tallahassee ducking out. She raised an eyebrow at the shirtless man. "Florida?" she questioned, confused.

He ignored her, continuing down the hallway. Wichita entered Grace's room, still puzzled. "Um, Grace?"

Grace looked up from where she'd been rummaging through her socks absently. "Yeah?"

"Tallahassee was in here?"

Grace looked away again, "Yeah. He slept on your bed because you were in Columbus' room," she continued rummaging through her socks, picking out a pair of white tennis socks. She closed that drawer and opened the drawer for her shirts. Wichita nodded and slinked back out of the room. She paused outside of the door, smiling to herself when she heard Grace sigh and call her back in.

* * *

Tallahassee entered the living room to see Columbus sitting on the couch. He was confused, as he thought that Columbus was in the shower. Columbus looked back up at him with an equally confused, yet anxious glace, because he didn't know why Tal was staring at him like that to begin with.

"Who's in the shower?" Tallahassee finally asked.

"Little Rock," Columbus answered, pressing pause on his movie. "Why?"

"I don't know, I heard your voice comin' out of the bathroom."

"Where'd you sleep last night, Tallahassee? Little Rock said she slept on the couch and you weren't in my room when I woke up."

"Well, Columbus, if you hadn't have had your girlfriend in bed with you, I would have slept in your room," Tallahassee plopped down next to his friend, tilting his hat, "Instead, I had to sleep with your sister." He nearly smacked himself. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way.

"With…with my sister?" Columbus asked nervously. "Like, in the same bed with my sister or like in the same room with my sister?"

"In the same room," Tallahassee saved himself, "What do you take me for, Columbo?" Columbus laughed, relieved, before Tallahassee spoke again, "So is this going to be like a routine thing? Am I being pushed off to the couch?"

Columbus smiled lightly, "I mean, you don't have to be pushed to the couch, Tallahassee. You could just sleep on the air mattress in Grace's room again."

"I'd rather have the couch," Tallahassee muttered bitterly. He still didn't know how to deal with Grace. The girl could turn him into mush and he didn't realize it until afterwards. Columbus glanced at him, but didn't say anything. "So, you little spit-fuck, how far'd ya get?"

Columbus blushed profusely just as his sister and his girlfriend made their way down the stairs together, saving him. Grace plopped down in between her brother and Tallahassee and Wichita sat on the other side of her boyfriend.

"What are you guys watching?" Grace questioned, taking the remote from Columbus and hitting play. The movie began to play again.

"A zombie movie? Seriously?" Grace tossed the remote back onto her brother's lap before stretching and standing up, "Like we don't get enough of that?"

"I thought maybe there'd be some really good pointers. Like how to make it to the end."

Grace, still stretching her arms over her head, rolled her eyes. "There is no end of zombie movies. Don't you pay attention to them? Everybody is pretty much screwed in every one there ever is. Or else there's a dozen sequels and you never know how it ends." Grace spoke bitterly towards her brother. Truth was, she wished it would be so easy to make it out of the zombie apocalypse alive. But, when movies always told you otherwise, there wasn't much hope.

She walked out of the room, leaving a frightened bunny rabbit of a brother along with an upset Wichita and an angry cowboy. She was oblivious that one of them followed her out of the room. He grabbed her arm and spun her around in the hallway, "What is the matter with you? Why are you being so negative, Grace? You know that your brother has the emotional level of a hormonal teenage girl. You can't scare him like that."

"Because it's the truth, Tallahassee," she ripped her arm out of his grasp coolly, "Nobody ever survives zombie movies. What are we supposed to do? Wait it out a year for them all to decompose and fall apart? It's been almost a year," she continued in a whisper, "And there is almost no sign of help from the outside world. I know America is the whole center of this, but what if the other countries are gone, too?" She looked down again, "We're going to run out of food soon. Everything expires. And mama's getting sick."

Tallahassee looked down. He was shocked that her persona had changed so quickly. She was usually a quiet, sweet girl in the short time he'd known her. He'd seen her act a bit psychotic towards the zombies, which was normal because they all went through that, but she seemed on the verge of a huge breakdown. However, he knew that she was right, but he didn't need her stirring shit around and potentially scaring Little Rock in the future. It was a good thing the girl was upstairs at the time.

"It's okay, Grace," he sighed, taking his hat off and rubbing his free hand through his short hair, "We'll find a way to make it."

"Not everyone can be gone, right?" she looked up at him with big eyes. Her eyes were full of emotions as he stared into them: fear, hope, sadness, and something else he couldn't quite place. He sighed, his anger literally melting away at the look. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into him. She put hers up, latching around his arms and burrowing her face into his chest by his armpit, sniffing.

"Not everyone can be gone," he whispered down to her, "we're still here, aren't we?" She nodded, upset, still. "Well, maybe there are some lucky few, just as strong as us who made it this long. And maybe there is a ticket out of this."

Grace nodded into his chest, "yeah."

"Your mom's getting sick?" he whispered into her hair. He hadn't noticed, but now that he thought about it, Grace and Columbus's mother hadn't really been around as much as she had the first day. She had been sitting in her room, reading for a couple of hours at a time, coming out to go to the bathroom and to eat dinner.

Grace nodded again, "I think it's the flu," she adjusted herself to feel more comfortable in the hugging position, "I hope it's the flu," she mumbled afterwards.

He took in a deep breath. If they had to move and Grace's mother was sick, it would be a huge weight on them. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Grace. We'll get her some medicine or something the next time we go into town."

Grace nodded, and continued to latch onto the cowboy. And he fought everything inside of him to keep holding onto her as well.


End file.
